Southeastern Conference football programs continue to rule over the recruiting trail, almost as thoroughly as they dominate on the field.
Alabama put together the best class in the country for the 2023 signing cycle, according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports.com. The SEC had eight of the top 17 classes as of Wednesday — national signing day and the start of the second signing period — including back-to-back national champion Georgia at No. 2, LSU at No. 6 and Tennessee at No. 9.
An SEC school has topped the team recruiting rankings every year since 2010, the first year for which the 247Sports composite rankings have data.
Florida had the nation's top recruiting class in 2010, Alabama led the rankings from 2011-17, Georgia had the top class in 2018 and 2020, Alabama ranked first in 2019 and 2021, and Texas A&M brought in the best class last year.
Here's a rundown of how each of the Power Five conferences fared in the 2023 cycle. Team and player rankings are according to the 247Sports composite as of 5 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday.
ACC
CLASS RANKS: 1. Miami (seventh overall); 2. Clemson (11th); 3. Florida State (20th); 4. North Carolina (27th); 5. Virginia Tech (35th); 6. North Carolina State (41st); 7. Louisville (43rd); 8. Pittsburgh (51st); 9. Wake Forest (53rd); 10. Duke (54th); 11. Boston College (59th); 12. Georgia Tech (60th); 13. Virginia (64th); 14. Syracuse (80th).
TOP PROSPECTS: Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida (10th overall); Miami offensive tackle Samson Okuniola, Thayer Academy, Brockton, Massachusetts (23rd); Florida State wide receiver Hykeem Williams, Fort Lauderdale (Florida) Stranaahan (31st); Clemson defensive lineman Peter Woods, Alabaster (Alabama) Thompson (33rd); Clemson defensive lineman Tomarrion Parker, Phenix City (Alabama) Central (49th).
TOP TRANSFERS: Florida State cornerback Fentrell Cypress (Virginia); Florida State tight end Jaheim Bell (South Carolina); Miami offensive lineman Javion Cohen (Alabama); Florida State defensive lineman Braden Fiske (Western Michigan); Florida State offensive tackle Jeremiah Byers (UTEP).
NOTES: Miami coach Mario Cristobal displayed the recruiting process he had shown at Oregon even as the Hurricanes went 5-7 in his debut season. ... Florida State didn't do all that great a job at recruiting high school prospects, but Mike Norvell has been as good as just about any coach in the country at mining transfers, and the Seminoles will hope their new portal additions perform as well as Jermaine Johnson did in 2021 or Jared Verse did last season.
BIG 12
CLASS RANKS: 1. Texas (third); 2. Oklahoma (fourth); 3. TCU (19th); 4. Texas Tech (26th); 5. Kansas State (32nd); 6. Baylor (34th); 7. Iowa State (38th); 8. West Virginia (47th); 9. Oklahoma State (55th); 10. Kansas (72nd).
TOP PROSPECTS: Texas quarterback Arch Manning, New Orleans Isidore Newman (first); Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold, Denton (Texas) Guyer (eighth); Oklahoma defensive end Adepoju Adebawore, North Kansas City (Missouri) (11th); Oklahoma safety Peyton Bowen, Denton (Texas) Guyer (16th); Texas linebacker Anthony Hill, Denton (Texas) Ryan (18th).
TOP TRANSFERS: Oklahoma outside linebacker Dasan McCullough (Indiana); Oklahoma defensive lineman Rondell Bothroyd (Wake Forest); Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (Georgia);TCU offensive tackl Tommy Brockermeyer (Alabama); Baylor offensive lineman Clark Barrington (BYU).
NOTES: Texas now has two of the past three No. 1 overall prospects; quarterback Quinn Ewers, the nation's No. 1 recruit in the 2021 class, transferred to Texas after initially enrolling at Ohio State. ... Oklahoma's 6-7 record in coach Brent Venables' debut season obviously didn't hinder his attractiveness to recruits and transfers. ... A glance at where the Big 12's incoming members currently stand: UCF was 49th, Houston 56th, BYU 66th and Cincinnati 78th in the team recruiting rankings.
BIG TEN
CLASS RANKS: 1. Ohio State (fifth); 2. Penn State (13th); 3. Michigan (18th); 4. Michigan State (23rd); 5. Nebraska (24th); 6. Maryland (36th); 7. Iowa (38th); 8. Illinois (42nd); 9. Minnesota (44th); 10. Northwestern (45th); 11. Rutgers (57th); 12. Wisconsin (58th); 13. Purdue (65th); 14. Indiana (67th).
TOP PROSPECTS: Ohio State wide receiver Brandon Inniss, Fort Lauderdale (Florida) American Heritage (35th); Penn State offensive tackle J'ven Williams, Reading (Pennsylvania) Wyomissing (40th); Ohio State cornerback Jermaine Mathews, Cincinnati Winton Woods (51st); Penn State offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier, Ashburn (Virginia) Broad Run (52nd); Ohio State wide receiver Noah Rogers, Rolesville (North Carolina) (53rd).
TOP TRANSFERS: Michigan linebacker Ernest Hausmann (Nebraska); Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun (Mississippi); Purdue quarterback Hudson Card (Texas); Ohio State safety Ja'Had Carter (Syracuse); Michigan offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson (Arizona State).
NOTES: The Big Ten signed none of the top 34 overall recruits and only two top-50 prospects. ... Michigan's rank isn't particularly impressive for a program coming off back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff, but the Wolverines did very well in terms of transfers. ... Indiana and Wisconsin also were very active in the portal.
PAC-12
CLASS RANKS: 1. Oregon (eighth); 2. Southern California (12th); 3. Utah (21st); 4. Washington (28th); 5. Colorado (29th); 6. UCLA (37th); 7. Arizona (40th); 8. Arizona State (46th); 9. Stanford (48th); 10. Oregon State (50th); 11. Washington State (63rd); 12. California (86th).
TOP PROSPECTS: Southern California wide receiver Zachariah Branch, Las Vegas (Nevada) Bishop Gorman (fourth); UCLA quarterback Dante Moore (Detroit Martin Luther King) (fifth); Colorado cornerback Cormani McClain, Lakeland (Florida) (13th); Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey, East Palo Alto (California) Menlo-Atherton (21st); Southern California wide receiver Makai Leon, Los Alamitos (California (43rd).
TOP TRANSFERS: Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter (Jackson State); Oregon defensive end Jordan Burch (South Carolina); Southern California offensive tackle Anthony Lucas (Texas A&M); Southern California wide receiver Dorian Singer (Arizona). Oregon OT Ajani Cornelius (Rhode Island).
NOTES: Colorado coach Deion Sanders made an immediate impact by adding McClain — the top-ranked player who didn't sign in December — and bringing Hunter with him from Jackson State. Hunter was the nation's No.1 overall prospect in the 2022 class. ... The Pac-12 added a few other players ranked among the top 125 Wednesday as quarterback Jaden Rashada (82nd) opted for Arizona State, cornerback Rodrick Pleasant (91st) chose Oregon and tight end Walker Lyons (123rd) picked Southern California.
SEC
CLASS RANKS: 1. Alabama (first); 2. Georgia (second); 3. LSU (sixth); 4. Tennessee (ninth); 5. Florida (14th); 6. Texas A&M (15th); 7. South Carolina (16th); 8. Auburn (17th); 9. Arkansas (22nd); 10. Mississippi State (25th); 11. Ole Miss (30th); 12. Kentucky (31st); 13. Missouri (33rd); 14. Vanderbilt (52nd).
TOP PROSPECTS: Alabama defensive end Keon Keeley, Tampa (Florida) Berkeley Prep (second); Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, Downey (California) Warren (third); Alabama safety Caleb Downs, Hoschton (Georgia) Mill Creek (sixth); Texas A&M defensive lineman David Hicks, Katy (Texas) Paetow (seventh); Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, Des Moines (Iowa) Southeast Polk (ninth).
TOP TRANSFERS: LSU cornerback Denver Harris (Texas A&M); Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary (North Carolina State); Georgia wide receiver Dominic Lovett (Missouri); LSU cornerback Zy Alexander (Southeastern Louisiana); Texas A&M cornerback Sam McCall (Florida State).
NOTES: South Carolina landed one of the nation's top remaining uncommitted prospects with Nyckoles Harbor, a tight end/edge rusher ranked 23rd overall. ... Alabama and Georgia are among the schools in the mix for tight end Duce Robinson, who is ranked 17th overall. Robinson hasn't decided on a school and also is considering a pro baseball career.